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A gathering of Konoha genin meet only to come across Kirigakure of different ranks.

"First Promotion Exams - Alliance"

South Shiren Caverns

The caves were cavernous, but not too huge. And the lack of external forces of nature affecting the temperature here meant Hitoshi could shed his warm layer of clothing, which he had done. Now clothed only in his typical red t-shirt and a pair of long, black pants with several pockets on them, the young boy had resorted to setting up an impromptu fishing line…

On his foot.

At the small lake, where the fish are apparently abundant, he lays with his hands behind his head… the fishing line that he had rigged was tied around one of his toes. From time to time, he'd twitch it, drawing it closer. Before he'd lift his foot, and cast it back out. Since he didn't have a stick, this was the next best way to do it…

His bag and his extra clothing were bundled up beside him, and he seemed to be rather keen on resting. The trip itself had been long enough…

No longer having a scroll to need to guard, Eremi moved through the caves and tunnels without the worry of being ambushed or attacked. It was a little calming in a way, to be one of the few that didn't have to think about such things. Unfortunately though, it did mean he had to face that many more people were he to leave here with two scrolls. Two weeks might seem like a lot of time to spend here, but it could go rather quickly if he doesn't hurry up.
Which is why, just recently after his first fight, he is already on the move looking for more competitors. He followed the tunnels until they eventually led him to a wide open area and from there he glanced around, hoping to spot someone to fight. Instead what he saw was a boy, with a familiar look about them. Smiling he started to walk over and waved his hand in greeting, "Hello Hitoshi. You seem awfully relaxed." Hitoshi was a competitor sure, but he couldn't fight him, not unless the other wanted to. So for now he let it escape from his mind, "You fight anyone yet? The competition's pretty tough. I already lost my scroll."

Naru would also being searching about the caverns, rather than hunting people down the first day she decided to go ahead and check things out, explore the area and get a feel for it before she ran into any trouble. "Hmm…" Naru whispered quietly to herself as she entered a somewhat clearing within the cave taverns… this obviously wasn' something she was looking forward to, she prefered the lush forest rather than this underground wasteland. " Does anyone else feel a little homesick already?" Naru brought up to the group of familiar up ahead, one in particular she had made a deal with and the other… Well she never had any ill fate towards him, she simply smiled and kept a hand on her katana just in case things would go sour… "Hmm… what an odd place…"

"A man cannot fight if he does not eat, Eremi-kun. And he cannot eat if he has nothing -to- eat," Hitoshi muses quietly, smiling a little bit to himself and shaking his head, not even looking up. He recognizes the other boy's voice. "I exhausted my rations on the trip here. I didn't realize I ate so much when on the move."

Yet he stays -so thin.- Super Metabolism, perhaps? When he feels a tug on the fishing line, he does perk up, though, watching his toe twitch against it's will for a moment as the fishing line is apparently messed with by one of the fish in the water…

And then, a TUG. "Aha. Dinnertime."

And with a mighty tug of his foot, he drags the line and hook out of the water, moving quickly, lest he loose his catch… and he drags a semi-medium sized fish out… Maybe a ten or twelve pounder? He watches it flop around on the ground, blinking for a moment.

"Homesickness is also kind of a relative thing, Naru-kun. We all feel a little homesick, sure… but we have a mission here. This is no different from any of our missions we have gone on before. The stakes are just… mm. A little higher."

At this point, he draws out a kunai, and he unloops the fishing line from his toe, and tugs it toward himself, flopping fish and all. He unhooks the fish… and goes about doing the deed of prepping it. Not an elegant thing, but it's what will feed him, doing this, for the next few days.

It would almost seem as if he had ignored Eremi's remarks, until he finally looks up to the pair, tilting his head. "Tough competition, eh? Already lost your scroll?" He frowns slightly, shaking his head. "Do you know who the competitor was?" He asks, finally.

Eremi watched Hitoshi quietly as the other was fishing, curious to exactly what kind of fish these waters held. It wasn't until he heard the voice of another that he turned around with a smile seeing that it was Naru, "Hello Naru." Watching her closely, then shaking his head, "No, I don't feel homesick. I'm just anxious about these exams." He shifted away some to allow room for Naru to step in, then looked back at Hitoshi cutting up the fish, "It was a girl named Sabaku from suna." He took in a deep breath and then sighed, "She was nice enough, healed me after the fight, but was way stronger then I would have imagined for a genin."

Control of the hunting grounds and water supply was the primary thing to procure in a situation like this. Kibushi had, after arriving, disappeared from sight for quite some time, creeping along the terrain and i nthe nooks and creavaces of this cavern in order to locate such a place. Unfortuantely, it was centrally located. This was a bit of a problem. There was no way to fend it off properly, no way to control it. And beyond all of that, people were meeting here and discussing things… and lounging about. This was certainly not something Kibushi expected, but all he could do was accept it and watch from the shadows, hanging between a stalagtite and a downards slanting jut i tnhe cavern's cieling. He would listen and try to determine whom it is he was viewing. It seemed that they knew each other, were open with one another. A pack of comrades perhaps. A complication should he be discovered or should they be one of his targets. For now, identification was key, and then deciding what to do with that information would come.

"Right we do have a mission…" Naru speaks softly, tilting her head to the side she couldn't help but to take a look into the water. Moving closer towards the lake she didn't notice anything usual happening around her, so for now she simply continued hr conversation. "Sabaku huh? Thats not much of a name…" Naru spoke softly, curious as to why the girl would even heal Eremi back to good health. " Its no matter though, scrolls will be easy to come by… We will get it when the time comes…"

Takeshi was on the other side of the lake, on a boulder that juts out over the lake, idly chewing on what can only be considered cardboard. It is, in fact, a nutrient bar. So awful tasting, so hard, but at the same time, it provided everything you needed to survive. The two across the way were gutting a fish they just caught, but even then, they were going to need a fire and he wondered what they would do to produce it. The bar is finished off as he swallows the last of it, watching them still with curiosity.
He brought breathe into his body silently before breathing out. In that instant, there was no longer any stealth to be had, a burst of flame illuminates the kunai between his hands as he tosses them forward. One into a fire pit that he or someone else had made, it bursts immediately into flame. The second one flies into a torch propped up on a boulder on the side of the lake and another, the last one, flies up into the cave wall and slides past kibushi, striking against the wall behind the other chuunin and falling to the ground into a small pool of water.
The old man stares at the two before speaking, "You needed a fire to cook the fish." There's a pause as he brings a hand up to rest on his knee, "If nothing else, I have some very bad tasting, very hard, nutrient bars. They at the least have what you need to survive."

"Scrolls may be a little harder to come by than we may think, Naru-kun, especially if what Eremi-kun is telling us… I personally thought that out of our group from Konoha, you or him would be one of the tougher ones," he remarks, and then, he blinks for a moment… unable to shake something…

!

Someon— PLOP. "Oh, wow." It was just a few feet away, but Hitoshi had watched the kunai, flaming glory, land in the firepit, and he widens his eyes slightly, blinking. Without thinking, the fish-gutting is abandoned and he digs into his bag, taking out an apparently blank scroll that he rips open, piling the brittle, but easily burnable paper atop of it, and even breaking the roll it was on to pile in as well… something that can let the fire smolder and keep warm. As the Chuunin makes his appearance, he turns his head, blinking.

"Thank you… that was kind of you," he calls back, blinking slightly and tilting his head a little bit. He squints slightly, tilting his head still. "You seem kind of older," he remarks softly, "to be a Genin. So I assume you're not wanting to challenge us," he explains quietly. "I'm Taniguchi Hitoshi," he remarks softly, "and these are some of my friends from Konoha." He gestures toward Eremi and Naru quietly…

Eremi looked at Hitoshi with surprise, not expecting to hear the other consider him possibly one of the toughest. It renewed some faith in the young teen that made him want to get back out there and try to reclaim a scroll. "Well, don't sell yourself short. You have plenty of skills neither of us have. I don't have a scroll anymore, so that says all there is to say about me." He continued to watch Hitoshi work on the fish, until suddenly the flaming kunai struck nearby, startling the boy some and causing him to jerk in response. If it was someone hoping for a fight, Eremi didn't have to worry, but he was concerned for his friends that were with him. His eyes trailed along to see where the kunai flew from, seeing another individual just across the way. Hitoshi didn't seem to concerned and made some decent observations about the old man not possibly being interested in a genin scroll. "I'm Satonezu Eremi." He bowed slowly before straightening up.

Takeshi nods at them both, "A little too old to be a genin yes. So no, I have no intention of fighting either of you, though I imagine that Kaguya Tsun will be enough trouble to keep all of you occupied no?" There's a grin as he watches them prepare the fish and react reflexively, "You can calm down. I'm here for the chuunin, or something like that. In actuality, I'm just making a last spurt of effort before retirement." There's a moment that the older man just looks around at all those assembled and then continues, "Kaguya Odori Takeshi, Clan Elder of the Kaguya of Kirigakure, famed warmongers of the bloody mist." And then he laughs loudly, honestly finding what he says amusing.
"That's such a joke. Warmongers of Kirigakure. Nobody takes the time to actually get to know us."

For a moment, Hitoshi seems occupied in his work on preparing the fish. Naru, for now it seems, has taken to rest… and he smiles a little bit. "Perhaps so," he remarks softly, and he quietly works around the gutting. Finally seeming satisfied, he takes what is left of some of that extra scroll paper, and wraps the fish up. He looks up, finally, tilting his head a little bit and squinting for a moment against the light of the fire, and the newfound torch. "That name…"

Pop. He suddenly remember that nice, hard socking in the chest he took on the beach from Takeshi's staff. His hand reflexively comes up, and he rubs himself in the chest. "Not so much a joke," he remarks softly, "when your clan essentially defended the shorelines single-handedly when we invaded to take that… thing… out." He looks up, then, tilting his head and smiling. He doesn't expect the elder to remember him, though. "You came out of retirement, just for this?" He looks a little confused, now…

Eremi did little more then watch the older man who seemed harmless and somewhat frail, curious to what the man hoped to achieve being here. He seemed like a kind hearted grandpa from first appearance, but considering the man made it to the exams you could only expect a lot from him. Not knowing much about the war on their shorelines, he couldn't comment. Though he had recently come across another kaguya during a mission, "I've once fought a genin named Kaguya Tsiro. He had a lot of passion, rage and aggression." He glanced around some before looking back at Takeshi, "He's not in the exams is he?" If so, that would just be another competitor that he stood no chance of beating and grabbing a scroll from.

Takeshi shook his head silently, "No, Tsiro-kun is not in the tournaments. He has taken a trip somewhere, likely to better himself, so I haven't seen him lately." Finally, he relaxes and looks between the two, standing up and jump down onto the lake, walking across the water towards them, "So, have you both had your first fights yet?"

"Eremi-kun has," Hitoshi remarks softly, and he looks toward the boy, somewhat sympathetically. "I've personally not… No one has challenged me yet. But we have… Almost a month in here, right?" A pause, then, and he looks between them both, watching the Kaguya walk across the water. "That's… kind of awesome. I can get maybe a step or two out on the water sometimes… but I can't make it much further than that. My tree-walking's not quite there yet, either," he remarks softly, smiling a little bit. "That was a pretty neat way of using your chakra to channel it into a weapon to form flames, as well." A pause, and he looks toward the fire. "I have an affinity to fire, as well. But no where -near- that level of control yet," he explains.

Eremi simply nodded as Hitoshi offered his name in regards to being in a fight, "I greatly underestimated my opponent. I should have started out strong, instead of leading into it." He shook his head and sighed, "A mistake I won't make twice. Next time I'll start out strong and then if I lose, I won't have any regrets." His attention then focused on the other man walking on the water, something he had attempted month ago and hasn't tried since. "I found out my affinity was toward lightning." Adding to the conversation, "Though I've been to busy focusing on my taijutsu to even consider ninjutsu yet." Tilting his head, he was growing rather curious, "Have you had your fight yet or is there someone in particular you are hoping to go up against?"

Takeshi shakes his head as he reaches the other shoreline, "No one has challenged me yet, though I expect the first challenge to come from one of my clansmen believe it or not. Maybe Kaguya Kibushi or Kaguya Yuuka." He grins at them both, "Well, we're in here for a month are we not? I could teach you both. This is another aspect of these exams anyways, experience. I could teach you both a little while we're stuck here."

"Part of the idea, I guess, is cultural exchange," Hitoshi concurs softly. It'd seem that despite the situation, he's rather cool-headed. "Even if I do lose my scroll and am unable to recover, I don't feel as if I will be ashamed of my performance. I come from a merchant family that settled in Konoha when it first established itself, after all," he begins to chuckle, shaking his head. "Qualifying for the Chuunin Exams, and let alone passing the Written Exam to proceed to the Survival Exam is an accomplishment in itself." He grins, then, nodding his head… "Learning a bit before I leave here would just sweeten the pot for me, win or loose."

He then looks to Eremi, quietly fashioning a little something at the firepit to place the wrapped up fish in… and as he does, he shrugs a little. "Think that sounds decent to you, Eremi-kun?" He smiles. "He's obviously willing to teach us and I'm personally willing to learn…"

Eremi glances between the two, shrugging as he did so, "I'm not one to say no if someone offers to teach me. So if you are willing to teach some genin from Konoha, I'd be more then honored to learn from you." He'd bow in an effort to show his appreciation then straighten up, eyes still focused on Takeshi. "A month in here gives a lot of time to go over anything really, so long as it doesn't interfere with going after scrolls as well. I still need two and considering most the competitors are from Konoha, that doesn't leave me many to challenge."

Takeshi nods at them both as he moves to sit down next to the lake, crossing his legs and resting his chin on his hands, "Well, that should work. I can teach you water walking and tree walking in a month, no problem, if you're willing to learn." There's a chuckle, "Why wouldn't I teach you? It's the responsibility of the old to prepare the young, regardless of where they come from."

"There's not enough people like that in the world… Too many people unable to look past the marks on these," Hitoshi remarks, reaching up to adjust his forehead proector, "and realize that when it comes down to it, we all have common goals sometimes… even if we have different nationalities, sometimes our goals crossover." He seems to remember something, his eyes narrowing or a moment as he shakes his head, but it apparently put aside quickly… "I'd be glad to learn from you, though."

At this point, Hitoshi just lets the fire cook at the fish, for now, and slowly work at the meat in the wrapping… And he scoots around on the ground to listen to what's going on better, his arms folding slightly, letting his hands rest in his lap.

Eremi nodded along with Hitoshi, agreeing with what was being said. "I think with all the wars that don't really seem to have a goal behind them, is what gets people mixed up. Otherwise, there really wouldn't be any hardships between nations. At least that's how I think." He watched the Takeshi sit down and Hitoshi re-situate, but Eremi remained standing. The teen was still ancy from fighting just an hour or so ago. He didn't want to sit and relax when he needed to stay focused on his goals. Two people he had to now fight, if not more.

Takeshi nods at them both, "So be it. For now though, it looks like you two need to eat. And I'll keep watch. Might as well have at least two people you can trust right?"